Treatment for Men Who Are Abusive to Their Partners

University of Maryland, Baltimore County60 enrolled

Overview

This study will develop an individual behavior therapy for men who are violent toward their partners and will compare the therapy to standard group treatment.

To date, treatment interventions for domestic abuse perpetrators have been conducted almost exclusively in groups. However, the efficacy of such treatments relative to no treatment has not been thoroughly evaluated. Evidence suggests that individual treatments may be more effective than group treatments. This study will combine motivational enhancement therapy with cognitive and behavior change techniques to treat men who abuse their partners. This study will be conducted in two phases. In Phase 1, an individual cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) manual will be constructed. During Phase 2, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either 16 sessions of ICBT or 16 sessions of standard group therapy. Data on abusive behavior outcomes and secondary treatment targets will be collected from participants and their partners every 3 months for 1 year after the study.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Domestic Violence

Interventions

Individual Cognitive Behavioral TherapyBEHAVIORAL

Eligibility

Sex: MALEMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Involved in male-to-female physical aggression in the past 12 months or has a history of severe male-to-female aggression in a relationship * Current involvement in a primary intimate relationship (cohabiting, dating, or married) for at least 6 months, with partner contact at least once per week * Willingness to provide written consent for partner contact * Partner provides verbal assent for the use of information during an initial phone interview and agrees to be re-contacted for scheduled follow-up interviews Exclusion Criteria: * Psychotic symptoms or severe mood disorder * Mental retardation, autism, dementia, delirium, catatonia, or other severe cognitive disorders * Severe head trauma in the past two years * Seizure disorder * Current diagnosis of alcohol dependence or drug dependence. Participants must be in remission for at least 6 months if a past diagnosis is present.

Locations (1)

Domestic Violence Center of Howard County

Columbia, Maryland, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Individual Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Partner-Violent Men study of physical assault, emotional abuse, and injury as reported by the male participant and his relationship partner

Physical assault, emotional abuse, and injury as reported by the male participant and his relationship partner

Time frame: Three month intervals for one year after the initiation of treatment

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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